Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Straws And Cups That Detect Date Rape Drugs

wgbhnews.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

91–100 of 125 posts

Re: Straws And Cups That Detect Date Rape Drugs

#91

Post by samstave »

Nursie wrote: post #3

1. Awesome invention, straws that detect adulterants and change colour 2. Obviously people do get drugged occasionally, the inventor seems to have had it happen to him 3. Unfortunately there seems to be no real evidence that GHB or ketamine are often used in sexual assaults, and even Rohypnol which has the worst reputation has not often been detected. A straw that could detect a drink that's stronger than you think i…

Create a spiral straw from two trips, like a candy cane. One strip turns one color in the presence of Alcohol and turns darker the more it detects - and the other strip turns a different color in the presence of anything else that you want to detect for.

Re: Straws And Cups That Detect Date Rape Drugs

#92

Post by VLM »

venomsnake wrote: post #85

Now I know I may be stupid engineer but isn't much simpler solution to have someone trusted who to call from time to time. With everybody having smartphones an gps app that for given period of time sends messages to trusted 3rd party about your location and being able to call if something is out of order is also a solution. Just before going upstairs she just calls to the "warden" and if she is speaking coherent ...…

"Now I know I may be stupid engineer but isn't much simpler solution"

I'm with you on this. Nothing stupider than slapping a technical solution on a social problem and calling it good.

Hmm, going out to drink unknown substances out of other peoples cups and letting other people mix potions for you and drinking out of cups people leave laying around unsupervised for others to mess with, is unsafe now, so "open mouth and out comes ridiculous cross between rube goldberg, life magazine predictions from 75 years ago about the future, and star trek technobabble". No, its just an obsolete, dangerous, dumb way to spend your time. You wanna do something stupid, fine, have fun, but don't come crying to me about how us smart people "have" to do something about your dumb decisions.

Kinda like free love was cool before HIV. Or going drunk driving was a great idea when you drove your own horse, but really dumb idea after cars. Sorry to break it to all the whiners but like it or not we live in the 2010s so deal with it or suffer. Going out drinking means pretty scary odds of date rape. So unless you're dense as neutronium, don't do it.

Before the chorus of how dare I blame the victim, well I have the right to blame them because I'm not an idiot. Going out drinking might have been fun in ye olden daze but its not ye olden daze anymore, its dumb and dangerous and THAT is why I have the right to blame the victim. I didn't get this brilliant knowledge from a reveled religion or a secret sauce, but from incessant whining of journalist reports, any other moron out there should be able to figure out the same thing I figured out, which is not to go out drinking anymore. Too bad for the victim if they're too dumb or lazy to think like the human being they are. Actions do have consequences.

I do have genuine pity for like "the first" date rape victims, how could she have possibly known and she'd not to blame. But we've had a lot of journalism since then. Not for some idiot who went out last night with a virtual bullseye painted on their fun parts, knowing fully whats probably about to happen, knowing that when the inevitable happens, they can just blame "society" or maybe blame the "techies for not inventing a cure"... anyone to blame but themselves.

There are perfectly good social solutions to this social problem. BYOB. Carry a fashionable hip flask. Strange as it may sound, you can socialize with friends without consuming liquids of any sort (insane concept, huh?). Take up an intoxicant that's safer than alcohol and harder (impossible?) to spike, like weed. "Back when I was a kid" we got totally drunk BEFORE we went out, who wants to repeatedly pay $7 a glass for something I can get drunk on at home for 75 cents/can, especially when you're a poor student. Only get drunk with actual friends at home instead of criminal strangers at a bar who want to take advantage of you. We're all smart here, its not very hard to figure out. These "revolutionary" ideas might negatively impact someones entrenched profitable business model? Tough cookies. Cry me a river.

But don't spew random tech all over an outmoded idiotic behavior and call it brilliant. Its just obsolete thrashing about. Wanna suffer? Fine go out and do it. I'm not going to feel any pity when the inevitable happens.

Don't worry, people are still going to find the numerous other ways to act stupid and hurt themselves.

Re: Straws And Cups That Detect Date Rape Drugs

#93

Post by dragonwriter »

VLM wrote: post #92
venomsnake wrote: post #85

Now I know I may be stupid engineer but isn't much simpler solution to have someone trusted who to call from time to time. With everybody having smartphones an gps app that for given period of time sends messages to trusted 3rd party about your location and being able to call if something is out of order is also a solution. Just before going upstairs she just calls to the "warden" and if she is speaking coherent ...…

"Now I know I may be stupid engineer but isn't much simpler solution" I'm with you on this. Nothing stupider than slapping a technical solution on a social problem and calling it good. Hmm, going out to drink unknown substances out of other peoples cups and letting other people mix potions for you and drinking out of cups people leave laying around unsupervised for others to mess with, is unsafe now, so "open mouth a…

> Or going drunk driving was a great idea when you drove your own horse, but really dumb idea after cars.

I don't think the danger to self is a big differentiatory between drunk horseback riding vs. drunk driving, rather, the difference in the external costs is.

Re: Straws And Cups That Detect Date Rape Drugs

#94

Post by keevie »

keevie wrote: post #9
Nursie wrote: post #3

1. Awesome invention, straws that detect adulterants and change colour 2. Obviously people do get drugged occasionally, the inventor seems to have had it happen to him 3. Unfortunately there seems to be no real evidence that GHB or ketamine are often used in sexual assaults, and even Rohypnol which has the worst reputation has not often been detected. A straw that could detect a drink that's stronger than you think i…

None of these "date rape drugs" even come close to comparing to alcohol. It's the original and most effective date rape drug, and no one even really objects to people using it for that purpose. Getting people drunk to get them to sleep with you isn't really /wrong./ Once you start using scary drugs that no one has ever heard of, then wow, that's something we can condemn. Especially since no one we know would ever do…

I can't edit my post it seems, but yes, I am most definitely being sarcastic here.

I absolutely believe that it is wrong to rape someone, and that getting people drunk to get them to sleep with you is rape.

In my experience, society does not think that, which is why we use phrases like "date rape," and talk about "date rape drugs" without ever mentioning alcohol.

Re: Straws And Cups That Detect Date Rape Drugs

#95

Post by VLM »

asdasf wrote: post #83
jwoah12 wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, I was being sarcastic. The goal of these things is to prevent date rape by someone unsuspectingly taking particular drugs. There's not much you are going to be able to invent if your goal is to stop date rape by preventing people from knowingly drinking alcohol.

But you just repeated the same thing. Again, I am not suggesting "stop date rape by preventing people from knowingly drinking alcohol" should be a goal. I am saying these devices are harmful. They have the opposite effect from what is intended. They create a false sense of security in regards to the problem, convincing people that as long as their drink hasn't been spiked they are fine. But 99% of date rapes involvin…

Perhaps both of you would understand each others position better, by meditating on the phrase "security theater".

A straw that detects a handful of numerous dangerous substances is about as useful at its claim of producing "safety" as TSA agents molesting grandmas and teen girls at airports. I'm rather proud of this analogy.

Re: Straws And Cups That Detect Date Rape Drugs

#96

Post by JulianMorrison »

A better solution is to learn the behaviors that rapists use - being pushy and overbearing, not taking no for an answer, cutting out of the herd, stuff like that. If your buddy behaves like that, don't let him get away with it.

And it's useless to detect rape drugs because the biggest rape drug is alcohol.

Re: Straws And Cups That Detect Date Rape Drugs

#97

Post by keevie »

jmduke wrote: post #49
Nursie wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> Getting people drunk to get them to sleep with you isn't really /wrong./ It is, sorry. There's nothing wrong with two people having a few drinks and going to bed together. But it's at the very least creepy to plan to knock someone's inhibitions down that way, or to take advantage of them. >> It's the original and most effective date rape drug, and no one even really objects to people using it for that purpose. You…

I'm giving the commenter the benefit of the doubt. I don't think he means that "there's nothing wrong with getting someone hammered to try and sleep with them", he means that "society seems to have a much smaller problem with getting someone hammered to try and sleep with them despite it being the same basic idea as GHB."

Exactly. A much, much smaller problem.

Re: Straws And Cups That Detect Date Rape Drugs

#98

Post by rayiner »

malandrew wrote: post #67
justin66 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It says Rohypnol was detected in less than 1% of cases of sexual assault where drugging was suspected. That might not mean what you think it means. From http://www.drugs.com/rohypnol.html : > It is difficult to estimate the number of Rohypnol-facilitated rapes in the United States. Very often, biological samples are taken from the victim at a time when the effects of the drug have already passed and only residual a…

The irony is that there is money to test them, you just need to convince female voters to call their representative and tell them that you'd rather they spend war on terrorism money on getting those rape kits processed instead. Considering that a woman is far more likely to be a victim of rape than terrorism, it's absurd that any rape kit ever sit on the shelf untested.

The difference is that they think terrorism victims don't "deserve it" but rape victims do.

Re: Straws And Cups That Detect Date Rape Drugs

#99

Post by keevie »

ZoF wrote: post #60
Nursie wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> Getting people drunk to get them to sleep with you isn't really /wrong./ It is, sorry. There's nothing wrong with two people having a few drinks and going to bed together. But it's at the very least creepy to plan to knock someone's inhibitions down that way, or to take advantage of them. >> It's the original and most effective date rape drug, and no one even really objects to people using it for that purpose. You…

Is he saying that he uses it that way himself? No. He's saying that society doesn't view it as negatively as it should... You shouldn't need to lower someones inhibitions for them to sleep with you... The very fact that you say "it's creepy to lower someones inhibitions that way" only serves to reinforce his point... It's not just "creepy" it's downright fucked up; and for a portion of society it is common-case usage…

Not only is it downright fucked up, it's rape. Full stop.

Re: Straws And Cups That Detect Date Rape Drugs

#100

Post by VLM »

doingitwrong wrote: post #5

If you find yourself going to a venue where you think one of these would be handy, shouldn't you just not go?

No, I think the rest of civilization should be warped around preserving "bar culture" and our best minds should be eternally in a cat and mouse game of straw maker vs underground organic chemist.

(Note I was kidding)

Going out drinking is no longer a sane activity. So don't.

Post reply on HN